NETHERLANDISH, UTRECHT OR LOWER RHINE, CIRCA 1490 | Anna Selbdritt

Hermann and Maria Schwartz, Germany;
private collection, Belgium, acquired directly from the above

Aachen, Suermondt-Museum, Bewahrte Schönheit: Mittelalterliche Kunst der Sammlung Hermann Schwartz, 1961;
Darmstadt, Hessisches Landesmuseum, Bildwerke des Mittelalters aus einer Privatsammlung, 1968

H. Feldbusch and P. Ludwig (eds.), Bewahrte Schönheit: Mittelalterliche Kunst der Sammlung Hermann Schwartz, exh. cat. Suermondt-Museum, Aachen, Aachener Kunstblätter, vol. 21, 1961, cat. no. 47, pl. 43;
Bildwerke des Mittelalters, 1200-1530 aus einer Privatsammlung, exh. cat. Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt, 1968, p. 33, no. 31 and p. 89

There are losses to Saint Anne's proper right hand, the child's proper right leg, the Virgin's proper left hand and to the points of the Virgin's crown. Otherwise, the condition is good, with surface wear throughout. There is some stable splitting to the wood, consistent with the material. There are wood inserts running down the centre of the Virgin's body and through the Child's leg. There are a few more minor losses, including to the book, the right hand crocket of the throne, and to the Child's proper right hand. There is some wax fill in areas, including to the Virgin's drapery below the stomach, to the Virgin's neck, to the tip of Saint Anne's nose, to the top of Saint Anne's wimple and around Saint Anne's proper left elbow. There are a few traces of polychromy, notably in the crevices and to the Virgin's crown. There is some evidence of past worming, notably around the bottom.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

When exhibited in 1961 and 1968, this large Anna Selbdritt group was given a Northern Rhenish origin, with citation of the influence of the Utrecht master Adriaen van Wesel. This theory can certainly be sustained; the wavy hair, long face and downcast gaze of the Virgin in the present group are strongly reminiscent of Adriaen van Wesel's Kneeling Virgin from an Adoration in the Rijksmuseum (inv. no. BK-NM-11713). However whether the Anna Selbdritt originated among van Wesel's followers in Utrecht, or further East towards to the Lower Rhine, is debatable. Stylistically the group relates to one of the same subject in the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum, Aachen (inv. no. SK 323), tentatively localised in Utrecht, while the arrangement of Saint Anne standing behind the throne upon which the Virgin is seated appears in another Anna Selbdritt from Utrecht (Museum Catharijneconvent, Utrecht, inv. no. ABM bh499). Further comparisons might instead support a Lower Rhenish origin of the present group, under the influence of Utrecht. See, in particular, the Saint Ursula by the Master of the Emmerich Saints (Preising and Rief, op. cit., no. 10.6), in which the heavy folds that gather across and below the Virgin's knees are repeated. 

RELATED LITERATURE
D. Preising and M. Rief (eds.), Mittelalterliche Bildwerke aus Utrecht, 1430-1530, exh. cat. Museum Catharijnenconvent, Utrecht and Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum, Aachen, 2012, pp. 136-137 and 267-268